Spray line assembly



Nov. 19, 1963 Filed Oct. ll, 1961 R. B. GRAF SPRAY LINE ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet l R. B. GRAF 3,111,430

SPRAY LINE ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 19, 11963 Filed OCT.. ll, 1961 United States Patent O 3,111,43@ SPRAY LINE ASSEMBLY Richard E. Graf, P/Iarengo, Iii., assiguor to Aiiegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, Brackenridge, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 145,533 9 Claims. (Cl. 118-70) This invention relates to spray paint systems and in particular, to automatic spray paint systems and to loading mechanisms therefor.

In the manufacture of magnetic core members, such core members are often coated with a protective coating of paint, plastic composition, or the like after which such coating is dried or cured so as to become a permanent protective and/ or insulating coating on the magnetic core member. Dip coating has been attempted in the past, but usually results in an uneven coating because of the iiow of the fluid coating composition prior to the drying or curing step. Spray coating has been also used, but if a conveyer system is used to support the core members, the supporting base surface is not coated, and it is necessary to physically turn such coated objects to permit the application of the coating to the uncoated surface. In some instances, the core members have been suspended from a hook or the like while the uid coating material is applied to the core member with the result that the point or line of contact between the hook and the object being coated is not adequately covered with the coating material.

An object of this invention is to provide an automatic system for effecting the spray coating of magnetic core members and the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide, in an automatic spray coating system, an automatic positioning of magnetic core members to be painted and an automatic turning of such core members at a predetermined position whereby such core members can be eifectiveiy spray coated over all external surfaces of the core member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a loading mechanism for a continuous conveyer belt spray coating system for controlling the positioning and spacing of the objects that are to be sprayed while on the conveyer belt.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a continuous belt spray coating system having a loading mechanism for controlling the spacing of metal objects to be sprayed thereon and having means for reverse positioning said metal objects so that a complete spraying thereof may be accomplished.

Other objectives of this invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a top plan view illustrating a conveyer spray coating system embodying features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a View in side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation and greatly enlarged which illustrates the loading mechanism utilized in the apparatus of FIGS. l and 2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the loading mechanism of FIG. 3 as viewed from the right thereof; and

FIG. 5 is a View in side elevation of another embodiment of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to FIGS. l and 2 of the drawing, this invention is illustrated by reference to a continuous conveyer belt spray painting apparatus shown generally at 10. Where the term paint is used herein, it is to be interpreted broadly as meaning paint, plastic composition and other Suitable protective :and/or insulating compositions which are 'capable of being sprayed on the object and 3,lll,43 Patented Nov. 19, 1963 lCe which when suitably dried or cured will provide the desired coating. The apparatus 10 comprises a reversing pickup device 12 disposed to reverse objects end for end and to discharge such reverse positioned objects onto a loading mechanism 14 which is positioned in alignment with a continuous conveyer belt apparatus 16, which is disposed to pass beneath an automatic spray paint head assembly 18 and through an associated furnace 20. The conveyer belt apparatus 16 is disposed to discharge coated objects therefrom onto a return transfer slide member 22 which discharges the coated objects onto a return continuous conveyer belt apparatus 24 that is disposed to return the objects to an inclined loading slide 26 to feed the coated objects to the pickup mechanism 12 or as an alternative to carry the coated objects to a discharge point after such objects are completely coated.

The conveyer belt apparatus 16 is carried by two aligned supporting frame members 28 and 30. The frame member 2S also carries a vertically extending supporting frame 32 on which the automatic spray head assembly 18 is disposed for movement at right angles to the path of movement (shown by the arrow) of the conveyer belt 34. The frame member 32 is also disposed to carry an adjustable guard frame member 35 positioned closely adjacent to the upper strand of the belt 34 but being provided with open ends for permitting objects carried by the belt 34 to pass through such guard member. The side walls forming the guard frame 36 prevent paint spray from escaping beyond the contines thereof and beyond the edges of the upper strand of the belt 34 so that the actual area of the application of the spray to the objects to be coated is within the contines of the guard frame 36. The details of the mounting of the spray head 18 are not shown as they do not form any part of this invention for it will be clearly apparent that instead of a traveling spray head 18, a plurality of spaced fixed spray heads may be readily utilized in applying paint or the like to the object to be coated. As shown, a catch basin 38 is disposed beneath the lower surface of the upper strand of the conveyer belt 34 which is of the open mesh or weave type sothat excess paint from the contines of the guard frame 36 and the objects passing therefrom will drip into such pan 3S and can be readily reclaimed.

In order to support the conveyer belt 34, a roller member 49 is disposed at one end of the frame 23, being carried in suitable bearing blocks 42, and is disposed to receive one end of the belt 34. At the other end of the frame 23 is disposed an idler roller 44 carried in suitable bearing blocks 46 for supporting the belt 34 at an intermediate point of the upper strand. The other end of the conveyer belt 34 is supported about a drive roll 48, the shaft of which is carried in suitable bearing blocks Sil carried by the frame member 30, it being noted that the shaft 52 is connected to a suitable source of power (not shown) for driving the roller 48 to thereby drive the belt 34 at a predetermined speed. Intermediate of the idler roll 44 and the drive roll 4S, there is positioned a suitable furnace 20 through which the upper strand of the belt 34 passes so that objects carried thereon and which have been sprayed may be subjected to suiiicient heat for an adequate period of time to dry or cure the fluid coating carried thereon before such coated objects are discharged into the transfer chute 22.

In order to clean the open mesh belt 34 of any residue paint, plastic or the like carried thereon, the lower strand of the belt 34 passes from the drive roll 48 over an idler roll 54 carried adjacent one end of a soaking tank 56 which contains a suitable solvent or stripper solution for softening the paint or plastic on the open mesh belt 34. Two idler rollers 58 which function as hold down rolls are disposed in the tank S6, it being noted that the belt 34 passes thereunder so as to be maintained in the solution contained in the tank 56. The belt 34 emerging from the tank '56 passes `over another idler roll 6i? carried adjacent the other end of lthe tank 56 `and 'from thence over another idler roll 62 that is carried at the upper edge of a second tank 64 which also contains a heated solvent or stripper solution for removing Vthe softened paint or plastic. The llower strand of the belt 34 then passes from the idler roll 62 beneath a hold down idler roll 66 positioned in the tank 64 to maintain the belt 34 in the stripper solution and then over an external idler roll 68 to a scrubbing device formed of a pressurized water spray rinse member 7b disposed in close approximation to a rotating mechanical brush 72. As the belt 34 passes beneath the spray member 7&1, it is engaged by the brush 72 which effectively removes all residue of the stripper solution from the lower strand of the belt 34. The brush 72 is in the form of a roller carried in a tank 74 which catches the water spray and residue of the stripper solution that is removed from the lower strand of the belt by the combined action of the pressurized water spray and the mechanical brushing. From there the lower strand of the belt 34 travels to and about the end roller 40 carried by the frame 2S so that the upper strand of the belt 34 presents a clean surface for receiving the objects which are to be spray coated.

The transfer slide member 22 is an inclined chute having a curvature therein for effectively reversing the direction of movement of objects sliding downwardly thereof. Thus, the upper end of the slide 22 is positioned to receive the objects from the belt 34, whereas, the lower end of the slide is positioned to discharge the objects in substantially the opposite direction from that imparted by the belt 34.

In order to transport coated objects from the lower end of the transfer slide 22, another endless conveyor belt assembly 24, having a conveyer belt 76, is disposed along side of the belt assembly 16, such endless belt 76 being carried between spaced rolls 78 and 80 with the roll 78 being disposed to be connected to a suitable driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the belt 76. The belt 76 is disposed in an inclined position with the lower end thereof, which is supported by the roll 8l), positioned adjacent the lower end of the transfer chute 22 so that objects sliding down the chute 22 will be deposited on the upper strand of the belt 76 and be transported lengthwise thereof toward the upper end of the belt 76 that is supported by the drive roll 78. Under certain operating conditions the coated objects will be carried by the upper strand of the belt 76 for the length of the conveyor belt 76 and be discharged from the upper end thereof for inspection, packing and the like. Under other conditions which will be explained more fully hereinafter, it is necessary to return the coated objects to the conveyor system 16 to be further coated.

In order to effect a transfer of objects from the upper strand of the belt 76 to the reversing pickup device `12, the inclined loading chute or slide 26 is disposed with the upper end thereof in juxtaposition with an edge of the upper strand of belt 76 and in alignment with a pivotal gate 77 that is carried by a side guard member 79 positioned along the edges of the upper strand of belt 76. The pivotal gate 77 is disposed to be moved away from the upper end of the slide 26 to a position Where it is angled across the upper surface of the upper strand of the belt 76 so as to intercept coated objects being transported by such belt 76 and guide them into upper end of the slide 26. It is -to be noted that the pivotal gate 77 may be swung about its pivot so las to be in a position in Valignment with 'and yform a part of the guard rail 79 along an edge of the belt 7 6 and thus effectively close the upper end of the slide 26 so that the objects can travel to the end of the belt 76 supported by the roller 7 S.

In order to effectively distribute the objects as they are supplied to the slide 26 an intermediate gate 81 of a size to extend outwardly from the upper end of the .4 slide 26 approximately half Way across the surface of the belt 76 may be positioned ahead of the gate 77 to intercept a portion of the objects and direct them down the right hand side of the slide 26 as viewed in FIG. l with the gate 77 directing the remaining portion of the objects that are carried by the belt 76 down the left hand side of the slide 26. The intermediate gate 81 is preferably secured at its upper edge to an arm 83 that is removably secured to the guard rail 79 whereby the gate 81 may be removed when the gate 77 is to be pivotally moved from its intercepting position to a position in alignment with and become a part of the guard rail 79.

he slide 26 is an inclined angularly disposed chute so as to transport objects diverted thereto by the gate 77 and the gate 81 downwardly and across to be positioned on a guide plate 82 that has a curvature substantially equal to the curvature of a drum S4 which forms a part of the pickup device 12. In practice the guide plate 82 is preferably spring loaded as at 85 for radial movement to and from the drum 84 so as to vary the Width of the space or gap therebetween to accommodate different sized objects.

In this instance the drum 84 of the pickupI device 12 is disposed on a shaft 86 that is disposed to be driven by a suitable power source (not shown). The drum 84 is formed of any suitable material and has a plurality of permanent magnets 8S disposed about the inner periphery of the outer wall of the drum with the magnets 88 also being positioned lengthwise of such drum so that a magnetic attraction is had throughout the entire surface of the drum 84. An endless belt 9i) is driven by the drum S4, the upper end of the belt 90 being disposed to pass over an idler roller 92 which is positioned adjacent the upper end of the loading mechanism 14 for discharging objects thereunto, it being noted that the belt 9i) is of a width substantially equal to the Width of the loading mechanism 14. As the objects slide down the chute 26 to a posiiton onto the guide plate 82, they are brought and held into close proximity to the dnuin v84 where they are magnetically attracted by the magnets 38 and are seated against the belt 90 to be transported therewith around the outer periphery of the drum 84 to a position where the upper strand of the belt 90 leaves the drum S4. At this point, while the belt 9G is inclined, the angle of inclination is suiiiciently small that the objects are carried thereon without movement relative to one another to the discharge end formed about the idler roll 92 to discharge the objects onto the loading mechanism 14. As illustrated in FIG. l, the loading mechanism 14 is disposed in alignment between the discharge end of the pickup device 12 and the upper strand of the conveyer belt 34 so as to discharge the objects on to the upper strand of the conveyer belt 34.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the assembly of the loading mechanism 12 is more clearly illustrated. Thus the loading mechanism 14 is formed of l`an inclined chute 94, the upper end of which is of a width substantially equal to the width of the belt 90 and the lower end of which is of a width substantially equal to the width of the belt 34. The chute 94 is carried by a pair of cross bars 96 and 9S, the outer ends of which are secured to rear and front supporting frame members and 102, respectively, at the ends of the cross bars. The lower cross bar 98 carries a pair of spaced brackets 104 and 106 on which are mounted suitable bearing supports 108 =and 110, respectively, for receiving the ends of a shaft 112 which carries -a rubber covered drive roller 114 disposed to seat in a slot opening 116 which extends across and through the base of the chute 94. An edge of the roller 114 thus projects through the slot 116 slightly to engage objects moving down the chute 94. The end of the shaft 1'12 is connected to a suitable driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the roll 1-14 at a predetermined speed.

In order to control the movement of objects as theyA slide down the chute 94 so as to effectively control the spacing of objects positioned on the upper strand of the belt 34, a removable guiding mechanism 118 is secured to the opposite side flanges 120 and I122 of the widened portion of the chute 94. The guide mechanism 118 is carried by a pair of side plates 124 and 126 which are disposed to be removably secured to the ange side walls 12d and 122, respectively, by bolts 128 and 130, respectively. A pair of spaced cross bars 132 and 134 are disposed to extend between the side plates 124 and 126 being secured at the upper edges thereof as by welding (not shown) for supporting a plurality of spaced guide members 136. The guide members 136 are in the form of elongated plates and are secured as by welding to such cross bars 132 `and 134 in spaced relation to 'one another so as to be positioned in a downwardly depending position therefrom, it being noted that the guide members 136 lare longitudinally extending lengthwise of the chute 94 and terminate closely adjacent the sliding surface of the chute 94. The spacing of the guide members 136 is dependent upon the size of the objects to be conveyed therebetween, such spaces having la width sufiicient to accommodate and limit the passing of only one of the objects at a time with only sufficient clearance to prevent the object from sticking in such space. The side plates 124 and 126 also have a pair of bearing blocks 138 and 149, respectively, mounted at the upper edge thereof for receiving a shaft 142 which extends 'therebetween and on which are mounted a plural-ity of spaced yoke members 144 which are disposed to carry roller members 146 adjacent the outer ends thereof. The rollers 146 Vare in effect idler rollers being positioned as better illustrated in FIG. 3 to be directly over the rubber covered drive roller 114 carried by the xed flange members 104 and 166. As more clearly illustrated in FIG. 4, one of the rollers 146 carried by the yoke members 144 is positioned in each yof the spaces formed between each pair of adjacent guide members 136 and each roller 146 is biased by the weight of its supporting yoke member 144 towards the roller 114 whereby objects flowing downwardly of the chute 94 between the guide members 136 must necessarily pass between and are engaged by the drive roller 114 and one of the idler rollers 146 carried between the adjacent guide members 136.

lIn order to control and direct the flow of objects into the spaces formed between the adjacent parallel guide members 136, a plurality of pin members 148 are disposed adjacent the entrance end of the spaces formed between the guide members i136. The pin members 148 are spaced ya distance apart substantially equal to the spacing between the guide members 136 and are carried in a downwardly depending manner from a movable cross bar 151) which is supported in sliding relation in spaced brackets 152 Iand 154 which Iare carried on longitudinally extending bases 156 and 1'58, respectively, which are secured to upper edges of side plates 124 and 126, respectively. An end of the sliding bar 150 extends outwardly beyond the bracket 152 and is provided with a downwardly depending pin 16) which carries `a roller 162 on the lower end thereof. The roller 162 is disposed to seat in the groove of an eccentrically mounted guide wheel 164 which is carried yon a suitable ball joint 166 that is disposed to be driven by a suitable driving mechanism (not shown) through the shaft 16S. The pins 148 extend downwardly from the bar 159 to Ia point closely adjacent the sliding surface of chute 94 and when the bar 150 is driven by `the eccentric wheel `164, the pins oscillate between a position in alignment with the guide members 136 to a position intermediate the upper ends thereof to prevent objects from sliding downwardly into the spaces between the guide members 136. It is to be noted that the guide mechanism 118 can be readily interchanged by removing the bolts 12S land 130 so that another guide mechanism 11S may be utilized having diiferent spacing between the guide members 136 and the pins E14S depending upon the size of the objects which are to pass therethrough to be positioned on the belt 34.

In operation the belt 34 is driven at a predetermined speed as is the rubber covered drive roller l114 of the loading mechanism. The relative speeds of the driving roller 114 and the belt 34 are controlled so as to control the spacing between the objects that are deposited onto the belt 34. A representative surface speed of `about 15 inches per minute of the belt 34 has been found to be satisfactory when the surface speed of the driving roller 114 is about 71/2 inches per minute to provide a longitudinal spacing of about one inch between successive one inch diameter objects deposited on the belt 34. These relative speeds can be varied depending on the size of the objects so as to provide Kadequate spacing to permit an adequate spray coating to -be applied. Of course, the speed of the belt 34 will also be determined by the length of the furnace 20 and time required to maintain the coated objects in the furnace 20 so as to effectively dry or cure the coating -applied to the objects. In practice the speed of driving the eccentric guide 164 is usually related with the driving of the rubber covered drive roll so as to maintain a constant supply of the objects to the spaces between the guide members 1361. The speed of the return oonveyer belt '76 may be at any predetermined rate to accommodate the feeding of coated objects to either the discharge end of the belt 76 Ior to the pickup device 12.

Assuming that the diiferent drives have been adjusted to provide a cooperating movement of the different mechanisms, a supply of the metal objects to be coated, for example, small magnetic core members or other metal objects capable of being magnetically attracted, are placed on the loading chute 14 and slide downwardly thereon toward the pins 148. The oscillating movement imparted to the bar 151? by the rotation of the eccentric guide Wheel 164 effectively controls the admission of the objects to the spaces between the guide members 136 and prevents any clogging or blocking of the entry end of such spaces. As the objects slide downwardly between the guide members 136, they pass between the drive roller 114 and the cooperating idler rolls 146 so as to be discharged from the chute 94 at a rate dependent upon the speed of the roller 114. In practice lthe slow speed of the roller 114 maintains a constant supply of the objects in the spaces between the guide members 136 and there is a definite Itime delay in the discharge of successive objects from such spaces. Such objects are then deposited on the upper strand of lthe belt 34 in a predetermined spaced relation depending upon the spacing of the guide members 136 and the relative speeds maintained between the roller 114 and the movement of the belt 34. The belt 34 then conveys the spaced metal core members through the open end of the guard frame 36 where the supper surface and side portions of the core members Iare effectively coated by the sprayed composition emerging from the spray head 18 and are conveyed from such guard frame member 36 4to the furnace 20 where the coating thus applied is dried or cured. The coated objects are then discharged from the end of the belt 34 adjacent the drive roll 48 on to the transfer chute 22 where they slide downwardly and are deposited on to the conveyer belt 76 where they are conveyed upwardly toward the upper end of such conveyer belt. Since this is the rst pass of the core members and the spray coating was applied only to the exposed upper and side portions thereof, it is necessary -to position such coated core members so that the uncoated surface thereof will be exposed and to again pass such core members through the spraying mechanism to insure a coating of all exposed surfaces of the core member.

Thus, as the core member is moved upwardly by .the

the core members to a position between the belt 9i) and the guide plate 82 adjacent the base of the drum 84. In this position the permanent magnets S8, carried by the drum 84, magnetically attract the upper surface of the metal core members which have been previously coated to seat against the belt 9G, such core members being magnetically held on the belt 9. rIlhe drum S4 rotates the belt 90 in a clockwise direction and holds the core members thereon until the belt 99 leaves the drum 84, it beingrnoted that the inclination of the belt 90 at this point is not suicient to cause sliding of the core members o the belt 90 or relative to one lanother whereby the belt 90 is effective for transporting such coated core members and discharging them on to the upper end of chute 94 of the loading mechanism 14. Suc-h coated magnets are thus delivered to the guide mechanism 118 which functions as previously described to deposit the core members on lto the belt 34 in a predetermined spaced relation with the uncoated surface of the core member as the upper surface of the transported core member. Such core members are passed through the guard frame member 36 where the uncoated surface is then coated after which the completely coated core members are transported through the furnace to dry or cure the coating. With the core members thus completely coated, they are again transferred as by means yof the chute 22 to the continuous belt 76 and moved toward the upper end thereof. In this instance the guide gate 81 is removed and the gate 77 is moved from its intercepting position to the position Where it forms a part of the guard 79 and the core members are conveyed to and discharged from the upper end of the conveyer belt 76. It will of course be understood that the objects can be recycled through the pickup mechanism 12 to the belt 34 as many times as is necessary to coat the objects to a desired thickness before the gates 77 and 81 are moved from their intercepting positions.

It is to be noted that while the foregoing coating operation is being eifected, the lower strand of the conveyer bel-t 34 is being transported through the cleaning tanks 56 and 64 and is being mechanically scrubbed by the brush 72 in the tank 74 so that residue of the pain-t, plastic or the like coating material is removed yfrom the conveyer belt 34 and a clean conveyer belt surface is presented to receive the core members that are discharged from the loading mechanism 14. It is also to be noted that one operator stationed near the loading mechanism 14 can determine the positioning of the guide gates 77 and/ or 81 and as to whether a fresh supply of uncoated core members should be supplied to the loading mech- `anism 14 or whether such guide gates 77 and/'or 81 should be positioned to intercept the partially coated core members to eifect a return of such partially coated core members as by means of the pickup mechanism 12 and the loading mechanism 14 to the belt 34 for further coating.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, an endless belt 170 is employed in the pickup mechanism 12 instead of the guide plate 82 shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2. This is desirable where the objects, such as magnetic core members, to be picked up by the magnetic attraction of the magnets `88 in drum 84 are of the order of 2 inches or larger in diameter. In this embodiment, the belt 170 is disposed about idler rolls 172 and 174 and a drive roll 176, it being noted that the idler roll 174 is spring loaded as at 178. The drive roll 176 is positioned above the drum 84 to maintain a strand of the belt 170 adjacent to a side of the drum 84 and the idler roll 172 is positioned slightly to the right of the drum 84 as viewed in FIG. 5 but slightly above the :lower edge thereof to maintain the belt 170 adjacent the lower portion of the drum 84. It is also to be noted that the roll 172 is positioned adjacent the lower edge of the slide 26 whereby objects delivered therefrom are deposited over the width of the belt 170 adjacent the drum 84. Since the idler roll 174 is spring loaded, the upper strand of the belt 170 is positioned to maintain `objects carried thereby in engagement with the belt as the belt 9d passes about the lower surface ofthe drum S4 to thus maintain such objects in a position where the magnets 88 will apply their strongest magnetic attraction to hold the objects on the belt 9e un-til such holding force is no longer necessary to maintain the objects on the belt 90. In this embodiment, the drive roll 176 is preferably mechanically connected as by a chain drive 180 and a gear box 182 to the shaft S6 to be driven with the drum roll 84. The gear box 182 has a predetermined gear ratio -to maintain the speed of the belt substantially equal to the speed of belt 90 to facilitate the transporting of the objects therebetween without slippage.

While the overall system described herein is directed to an automatic system including the magnetic pickup mechanism 12 for returning metal objects to the loading mechanism 14, it will be appreciated that the loading mechanism 14 described will nd Wide use in other spray systems for controlling the spacing of objects other than only those that are capable of being magnetically attracted by magnets onto a conveyer belt. This invention therefore, insofar as the use of the loading mechanism 14 in combination with a conveyer belt for controlling the spacing of objects on the conveyer belt is concerned is not to be limited to the spacing of only objects that are capable of being magnetically attracted by magnets.

The apparatus of this invention provides for the complete coating of metal objects, for the reversal of the metal objects to effect such complete coating, and for supplying objects in a predetermined spaced relation to the conveyer b'elt so as to effect the most eicient coating of such objects. Once the relative speeds of the dilerent drives have been established for accomplishing the coating of a given sized object, the entire operation is continuous and automatic with the exception of the operation of theY intercepting gate and the necessity for the operator to supply additional quantities of uncoated objects to the loading chute. The apparatus can be constructed from substantially standard components and may therefore be readily reproduced by anyone skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. In a spray line assembly having a continuous conveyer belt of the open mesh type disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and having a spray assembly positioned adjacent the upper strand of the continuous conveyer belt disposed to spray coat objects carried thereby and having heating means disposed for drying the spray coating and a cleaning system for removing spray from the lower strand of the conveyer belt, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of the continuous conveyer belt to deposit said objects to be coated thereon, said loading mechanism including guide means for controlling the spacing of said objects across said continuous conveyer belt and a drive mechanism disposed to engage and drive said objects as they pass through said guide means to thereby control the rate of discharge of said objects from said loading mechanism, a second continuous conveyer belt disposed to receive coated objects from the coating conveyer belt and transport them in a reverse direction towards the feed end of the coating conveyer belt, a continuous pickup feed belt assembly disposed to receive said coated objects from said second conveyer belt and deliver them to said loading mechanism, said assembly including a drive roll having a plurality of magnets disposed internally thereof to apply magnetic attraction through said pickup feed belt as said belt passes over said drive roll, and means for delivering said coated objects from said second conveyer belt to a position adjacent the lower portion of said pickup drive roll, the magnets carried by said pickup drive roll magnetically attracting said coated objects onto said pickup feed belt whereby the coated surface of said coated objects seats on said feed belt and said coated objects are delivered by said feed belt to said loading mechanism with the uncoated surface of said coated object exposed.

2. n a spray line assembly having a continuous conveyer belt of the open mesh type disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and having a spray assembly positioned adjacent the upper strand of the continuous con veyer belt disposed to spray coat objects carried thereby and having heating means disposed for drying the spray coating, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of the continuous conveyer belt to deposit said objects to be coated thereon, said loading mechanism including guide means and drive mechanism for controlling the spacing'and rate of discharge of said objects therefrom, said drive mechanism being disposed in said guide means to engage and drive said objects as they pass through said guide means, said drive mechanism being disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed relative to the speed of the continuous conveyer belt and to cooperate therewith to control the spacing of said driven objects longitudinally of the continuous conveyer belt, a second continuous conveyer belt disposed to receive coated objects from the coating conveyer belt and transport them in a reverse direction towards the feed end of the coating conveyer belt, a continuous pickup feed belt assembly disposed to receive said coated objects from said second conveyer belt and deliver them to said loading mechanism, said assembly including a drive roll having a plurality of magnets disposed internally thereof to apply magnetic attraction through said pickup feed belt as said belt passes over said drive roll, and means for delivering said coated objects from said second conveyer belt to a position where the upper coated surface of each of said coated objects is adjacent the lower portion of said pickup drive roll, the magnets carried by said pickup drive roll magnetically attracting said coated objects onto said pickup feed belt whereby the coated surface of said coate objects seats on said feed belt and said coated objects are delivered by said feed belt to said loading mechanism with the uncoated surface of said coated object exposed.

3. In a conveyer system having a continuous conveyer belt disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed to transport predetermined sized objects thereon, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of said conveyer belt to deposit said objects thereon in a predetermined spaced relation, said loading mechanism comprising an inclined loading chute for receiving a plurality of said objects at its upper end and having its lower end in alignment with and disposed to discharge said objects on said conveyer belt, a plurality of elongated fixed guide members disposed to extend longitudinally of said chute and in spaced relation to one another across the width of said chute to provide predetermined spaces therebetween having a width to accommodate only one of said objects between adjacent fixed guide members, a slidable bar disposed to extend across said chute adjacent the upper ends of said fixed guide members, a plurality of pin members carried by said bar, said pin members being disposed to extend downwardly towards said chute adjacent the upper ends of said fixed guide members and being disposed along said bar in spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of said fixed guide members, means connected to said bar and disposed to be operated to impart an oscillating sliding movement thereto to effect a predetermined oscillating movement of said spaced pin members from a position where said pin members are in alignment with associated fixed guide members to a position intermediate therebetween to control the admission of said objects to the spaces between said fixed guide members as said objects move downwardly of said chute, and drive means disposed in said spaces between said fixed guide members disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and to engage and drive said objects as they pass between said fixed guide members to thereby control the rate of discharge of said objects from said loading mechanism.

4. In a conveyer system having a continuous conveyer belt disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed to transport predetermined sized objects thereon, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of said conveyer belt to deposit said objects thereon in a predetermined spaced relation, said loading mechanism comprising an inclined loading chute for receiving a plurality of said objects at its upper end and having its lower end in alignment with and disposed to discharge said objects on said conveyer belt, a plurality of elongated fixed guide members disposed to extend longitudinally of said chute and in spaced relation to one another across the width of said chute to provide predetermined spaces therebetween having a width to accommodate only one of said objects between adjacent fixed guide members, a slidable bar disposed to extend across said chute adjacent the upper ends of said fixed guide members, a plurality of pin members carried by said bar, said pin members being disposed to extend downwardly towards said chute adjacent the upper ends of said fixed guide members and being disposed along said bar in spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of said fixed guide members, an eccentric drive means connected to said bar to impart an oscillating sliding movement thereto to eifect a predetermined oscillating movement of said spaced pin members from a position where said pin members are in alignment with associated fixed guide members to a position intermediate therebetween to control the admission of said objects to the spaces between said fixed guide members as said objects move downwardly of said chute, and drive means disposed in each of the spaces between said fixed guide members disposed to engage and drive each of said objects passing therebetween downwardly of said chute in alignment with said spaces and at a predetermined speed to control the rate of discharge and spacing of said objects from said chute.

5. In a conveyer system having a continuous conveyer belt disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed to transport predetermined sized objects thereon, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of said conveyer belt to deposit said objects thereon in a predetermined spaced relation, said loading mechanism comprising an inclined loading chute for receiving a plurality of said objects at its upper end and having its lower end in alignment with and disposed to discharge said objects on said conveyer belt, a plurality of fixed guide members disposed to extend longitudinally of said chute and in spaced relation to one another across the width of said chute to provide predetermined spaces therebetween having a width to accommodate only one of said objects between adjacent fixed guide members, a movable bar disposed to extend across said chute adjacent the upper ends of said fixed guide members, a plurality of downwardly depending pin members carried by said bar and disposed in spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of said fixed guide members, means to impart an oscillating movement to said bar and the spaced pin members carried thereby to effect an oscillating movement of said pin members from a position in alignment with said fixed guide members to a position intermediate therebetween to control the admission of said objects to the spaces between said xed guide members as said objects move downwardly of said chute, said loading chute having an elongated opening therein extending across said chute beneath said fixed guide members, a drive roller means disposed beneath said chute and positioned to project into said elongated opening to engage said objects individually as they move downwardly of said chute between said fixed guide members, and a pivotally mounted idler roller disposed to extend downwardly into each of said spaces between adjacent fixed guide members and in alignment with said drive roller means whereby said drive roller means and said idler rollers cooperate to simultaneously engage and drive each of said objects downwardly of said chute in alignment with the spaces between adjacent fixed guide members through which they pass and at a predetermined l l speed to control the rate of discharge and spacing of said objects from said chute.

6. In a spray line assembly having a continuous conveyer belt of the open mesh type disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and having a spray assembly positioned adjacent the upper strand of the continuous conveyer belt disposed to spray coat metal objects carried thereby and having heating means disposed for drying the spray coating, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of the continuous conveyer belt to deposit said objects to be coated thereon, said loading mechanism including guide means and drive mechanism for controlling the spacing and rate of discharge of said objects therefrom, said drive mechanism being disposed in said guide means to engage and drive said objects as they pass through said guide means, said drive mechanism being disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed relative to the speed of the continuous conveyer belt and to cooperate therewith to control the spacing of said driven objects longitudinally of the continuous conveyer belt, a second continuous conveyer belt disposed to receive coated objects from the coating conveyer belt and transport them in a reverse direction towards the feed end of the coating conveyer belt, a continuous pickup feed belt assembly disposed to receive said coated objects from said second conveyer belt and deliver them to said loading mechanism, said assembly including a drive roll having a plurality of magnets disposed internally thereof to apply magnetic attraction through said pickup feed belt as said belt passes over said drive roll, and means for delivering said coated objects from said second conveyer belt to a position where the upper coated surface of each of said coated objects is adjacent the lower portion of said pickup drive roll, said means including a continuous guide belt disposed closely adjacent said drive roll to receive and support said coated objects therebetween, the magnets carried by said pickup drive roll magnetically attracting said coated objects from said guide belt onto said pickup feed belt whereby the coated surface of said coated objects seats on said feed belt and said coated objects are delivered by said feed belt to said loading mechanism with the uncoated surface of said coated object exposed.

7. In a spray line assembly having a continuous conveyer belt of the open mesh type disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and having a spray assembly positioned adjacent the upper strand of the continuous conveyer belt disposed to spray coat metal objects carried thereby and having heating means disposed for drying the spray coating, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of the continuous conveyer belt to deposit said objects to be coated thereon, said loading mechanism including guide means and drive mechanism for controlling the spacing and rate of discharge of said objects therefrom, said drive mechanism being disposed in said guide means to engage and drive said objects as they pass through said guide means, said drive mechanism being disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed relative to the speed of the continuous conveyer belt and to cooperate therewith to control the spacing of said driven objects longitudinally of the continuous conveyer belt, a second continuous conveyer belt disposed to receive coated objects from the coating conveyer belt and transport them in a reverse direction towards the feed end of the coating conveyer belt, a continuous pickup feed belt assembly disposed to receive said coated objects from said second conveyer belt and deliver them to said loading mechanism, said assembly including a drive roll having a plurality of magnets disposed internally thereof to apply magnetic attraction through said pickup feed belt as said belt passes over said drive roll, and means for delivering said coated objects from said second conveyer belt to a position where the upper coated surface of each of said coated objects is adjacent the lower portion of said pickup drive roll, said means including a continuous guide belt disposed closely adjacent said drive roll to receive and support said coated objects therebetween, said drive roll and said guide belt having an interconnected drive whereby said guide belt and said pickup feed belt are disposed to be driven at substantially equal speeds to prevent slippage therebetween as objects are conveyed therebetween, the magnets carried by said pickup drive roll magnetically attracting said coated objects from said guide belt onto said pickup feed belt whereby the coated surface of said coated objects seats on said feed belt and said coated objects are delivered by said feed belt to said loading mechanism with the uncoated surface of said coated object exposed.

8. In a conveyer system having a continuous conveyer belt of the open mesh type disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and having a spray assembly positioned adjacent the upper strand of the continuous conveyer belt disposed to spray coat metal objects carried thereby and having heating means disposed for drying the spray coating, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of said conveyer belt to deposit said metal objects thereon in a predetermined spaced relation, said loading mechanism comprising an inclined loading chute for receiving a plurality of said objects at its upper end and having its lower end in alignment with and disposed to discharge said objects on said conveyer belt, a plurality of fixed guide members disposed to extend longitudinally of said chute and in spaced relation to one another across the width of said chute to provide predetermined spaces therebetween having a width to accommodate only one of said objects between adjacent xed guide members, a movable bar disposed to extend across said chute adjacent the upper ends 0f said xed guide members, a plurality of downwardly depending pin members carried by said bar and disposed in spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of said fixed guide members, means to impart an oscillating movement to said bar and the spaced pin members carried thereby to effect an oscillating movement of said pin members from a position in alignment with said fixed guide members to a position intermediate therebetween to control the admission of said objects to the spaces between said xed guide members as said objects move downwardly of said chute, drive means disposed in said spaces between said fixed guide members disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed and to engage and drive said objects as they pass between said ixed guide members to thereby control the rate of discharge of said objects from said loading mechanism, a second continuous conveyer belt disposed to receive coated objects from the coating conveyer belt and transport them towards the feed end of the coating conveyer belt, and a continuous pickup feed belt assembly disposed to receive said coated objects from said second conveyer belt and deliver them to said loading mechanism, said assembly including a drive roll having a plurality of magnets disposed internally thereof to magnetically attract said objects to said pickup feed belt for delivery to said loading mechanism.

9. In a conveyer system having a continuous conveyer belt disposed to be driven at a predetermined speed to transport predetermined sized objects thereon, the combination therewith of, a loading mechanism disposed at one end of said conveyer belt to deposit said objects thereon in a predetermined spaced relation, said loading mechanism comprising an inclined loading chute for receiving a plurality of said objects at its upper end and having its lower end in alignment with and disposed to discharge said objects on said conveyer belt, a plurality of guide members disposed to extend longitudinally of said chute and in spaced relation to one another across the width of said chute to provide predetermined spaces therebetween having a width to accommodate only one of said objects between adjacent guide members, a movable bar disposed to extend across said chute adjacent the upper ends of said spaced guide members, a plurality of downwardly de- 13 pending pin members carried by said bar and disposed in spaced relation to one another corresponding to the spacing of said guide members, means disposed to impart an oscillating movement to said bar and the spaced pin members carried thereby to effect an oscillating movement of said pin members from a position in alignment with said spaced guide members to a position intermediate therebetween to control the admission of said objects to the spaces between said guide members as said objects move downwardly of said chute, and drive means positioned in each of the spaces between said guide members disposed to engage and drive each of said objects passing therebetween downwardly of said chute in alignment with said spaces and at a predetermined speed to control the rate of discharge and spacing of said objects from said chute.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN A SPRAY LINE ASSEMBLY HAVING A CONTINUOUS CONVEYER BELT OF THE OPEN MESH TYPE DISPOSED TO BE DRIVEN AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED AND HAVING A SPRAY ASSEMBLY POSITIONED ADJACENT THE UPPER STRAND OF THE CONTINUOUS CONVEYER BELT DISPOSED TO SPRAY COAT OBJECTS CARRIED THEREBY AND HAVING HEATING MEANS DISPOSED FOR DRYING THE SPRAY COATING AND A CLEANING SYSTEM FOR REMOVING SPRAY FROM THE LOWER STRAND OF THE CONVEYER BELT, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF, A LOADING MECHANISM DISPOSED AT ONE END OF THE CONTINUOUS CONVEYER BELT TODEPOSIT SAID OBJECTS TO BE COATED THEREON, SAID LOADING MECHANISM INCLUDING GUIDE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SPACING OF SAID OBJECTGS ACROSS SAID CONTINUOUS CONVEYER BELT AND A DRIVE MECHANISM DISPOSED TO ENGAGE AND DRIVE SAID OBJECTSW AS THEY PASS THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEANS TO THEREBY CONTROL THE RATE OF DISCHARGE OF SAID OBJECTS FROM SAID LOADING MECHANISM, A SECOND CONTINUOUS CONVEYER BELT DISPOSED TO RECEIVE COATED OBJECTS FROM THE COATING CONVEYER BELT AND TRANSPORT THEM IN A REVERSE DIRECTION TOWARDS THE FEED END OF THE COATING CONVEYER BELT, A CONTINUOUOS PICKUP FEED BELT ASSEMBLY DISPOSED TO RECEIVE SAID COATED OBJECTS FROM SAID SECOND CONVEYER BELT AND DELIVER THEM TO SAID LOADING MECHANISM, SAID ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A DRIVE ROLL HAVING A PLURALITY OF MAGNETS DISPOSED INTERNALLY THEREOF TO APPLY MAGNETIC ATTRACTION THROUGH SAID PICKUP FEED BELT AS SAID BELT PASSES OVER SAID DRIVE ROLL, AND MEANS FOR DELIVERING SAID COATED OBJECTS FROM SAID SECOND CONVEYER BELT TO A POSITION ADJACENT THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID PICKUP DRIVE ROLL, THE MAGNETS CARRIED BY SAID PICKUP DRIVE ROLL MAGNETICALLY ATTRACTING SAID COATED OBJECTS ONTO SAID PICKUP FEED BELT WHEREBY THE COATED SURFACE OF SAID COATED OBJECTS SEATS ON SAID FEED BELT AND SAID COATED OBJECTS ARE DELIVERED BY SAID FEED BELT TO SAID LOADING MECHANISM WITH THE UNCOATED SURFACE OF SAID COATED OBJECT EXPOSED. 